"That was the turning point of the football game there on the 40-yard line," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "It was a tremendous hit. It was football at its finest. It was Bernard Pollard making a great physical tackle, just as good a tackle as you're ever going to see in football right there. That probably turned the game around right there."

Ridley did not move his legs for a minute or so. The Patriots' training staff and coach Bill Belichick rushed onto the field to check on him as the officials tried to sort out who had recovered the fumble.

Baltimore turned that into the final touchdown, on the only short scoring drive it had, 47 yards.

The Ravens reached their first Super Bowl in 12 years, thanks to three touchdown passes from Joe Flacco and a defense led by Ray Lewis that made Tom Brady look downright ordinary.